Escape
by MajinWTF
Summary: Piccolo goes to the HFIL with plans to reform the wizard Babidi. He didn't count on Raditz getting in the way, or further interference from angel Dabura. Set after DBZ but DOES NOT follow GT.
1. Chapter 1

Escape by MajinWTF

Chapter One: Not Ready for the Dead

King Yama had eons of practice in judging souls and as a result was rarely uncertain as to what sort of fate the departed deserved. This, however, was a fully unprecedented situation.  
The soul in question stood in front of his desk. His arms were crossed and his eyes closed. King Yama honestly couldn't tell if it was an attitude of reverence or boredom.  
"I'd imagine you can guess what the hold up here is, eh, Piccolo?"

The tall Namekian sighed. "You can't send Kami-sama or Nail to hell but you can't let Piccolo into heaven. Right?"

The massive judge of souls leaned around his desk to better see this difficult case. "That's right. So I'm going to give you a rare opportunity... Five minutes in which to plea your case and convince me that sending you to heaven is the right choice."

"If it's all the same to you... I think I'd better be sent to hell."

"No, you need to be persuasive! Give me reasons, of course you WANT to be sent to- wait a second, you'd prefer hell?!" Yama was flabbergasted. "If I might ask why? I'd assume you were joking if you didn't seem to lack a sense of humor..."

Piccolo appeared to have thought this through. "I've done some unforgivable things, that's indisputable."

King Yama had a keen eye for bullshit. "There's more to this than just your guilty conscience, isn't there?"

Flinching, Piccolo looked away and said quickly, "Well, there's also someone there. Someone I wanted to see."

"Really now?" Yama asked with a condescending grin, "Could it be that this stoic warrior has a special someone in hell?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Piccolo was visibly flustered. "I just needed a chance to apologize to him, that's all!"

So Piccolo was sent down without any further delays except to be reminded to keep his partial divinity a secret. King Yama shook his head. "What are things coming to when I send someone like Dabra to heaven and a Kami to hell?"

- - -

Hell, or the Home For Infinite Losers as some preferred to call it, had plenty of drawbacks- but there were a few things that made it tolerable for a certain percentage of its occupants. The abundance of free time, for example. Some of the HFIL's residents found this same factor to be exasperating.

The dead Saiyan soldier Raditz was currently making good use of the free time.

The dead wizard Babidi was getting annoyed with it.

"Nine thousand seventy eight, nine thousand seventy nine, nine thousand eighty..." Raditz paused in his push ups and rolled over on his side, looking up at the small wizard who was perched on a random boulder nearby, eyes shut. "Hey Babidi! Wake up!"

The wizard woke with a start and nearly fell off his rock. "I wasn't sleeping you idiot," he said, holding in a yawn. "I was deep in meditation until you interrupted -" he then noticed that he was only addressing one. "Hey, where'd the others go?"

Raditz stood up and brushed himself off. "They left. I'm the only one who could handle your training so far. And you know what that means." In reality the others had gotten bored and left, but he knew the formerly sleeping wizard wouldn't know the difference.

Babidi stood back up on his rock, irritated by his inability to fly in this wretched place. The Saiyan's clear height advantage annoyed him. "Yes, yes, I promised I'd train the toughest one here to fight like Buu... But! Don't think you've proven yourself worthy quite yet! You may have outlasted the others in the 'Highly Repetitive Exercise Endurance Battle,' but you still have to face... Uh..." Babidi thought quickly and came up with an idea, "the Deadly Magic Power-Up Challenge!' That's it!"

Raditz was getting annoyed. As Babidi talked animatedly about the various trials involved in this next ridiculous pretraining exercise the Saiyan's patience ran out and he grabbed the small wizard by the collar of his shirt and lifted him roughly. "Listen, you wrinkly little waste of time, I am not letting you go until you guarantee me that you're going to cease this needless dallying and start training me immediately!" He shook him a few times to get his point across, mentally vowing that as soon as he had learned Buu's fighting technique Babidi would be the first to feel the pain of it.

"Drop him, Raditz!"

Both Saiyan and wizard froze for a second, then they turned to look- the voice they had both thought they recognized- and they were both right.

- - -

Piccolo's arrival in hell was a typical one- almost immediately he was noticed by a few who had been dead for a while, and they attempted to give him a bit of a hazing- then things took a turn for the unusual when an unimpressed Piccolo defeated the whole group with about two seconds worth of effort.

"Who ARE you?!" demanded one of the fallen 'welcoming party.'

Remembering Yama's warning about admitting he was anything other than another typical lost soul and wanting to avoid any further incidents before he found the one he was looking for, Piccolo decided to act a little like his old self.

"Be glad that you're already dead else you'd be feeling the last of your life slip painfully away this very second as your reward for getting in the way of Piccolo Daimao!"

He then walked off, having a hard time not smiling. Pretending to be a villain shouldn't be fun, but…

His desire to smile faded when he tried to sense the Ki of his target. Of course... We're all dead here! I can't feel anyone's Ki!

This was going to take longer than he'd thought. But at least he had all the time in the world for his search... Which turned out to be unnecessary- hearing a familiar voice shouting in the distance, he rushed off.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: They All Knew What They Wanted

"YOU!" two voices shouted out, startled.

Piccolo had approached right as Raditz had started manhandling Babidi, but it took them a moment to notice him. Once they did, however, Raditz was so surprised that he dropped the wizard, who sat on the ground where he fell, staring at the Namekian.

"Raditz, huh? I'm not at all surprised to find such scum as yourself here," said Piccolo, who had to admit he was getting a little bit of joy out of seeing the terror in Raditz's eyes. He then turned his attention to Babidi.

The primary reason he had elected to go to hell in the first place...

"Babidi. I've been looking for you."

"Ha! You have, have you?" Babidi jumped to his feet, his composure regained and his usual self returning. "You may be terrified to know that without that idiot Buu holding me back I'm a far more powerful and effective threat! So if you're even considering cutting me in half again you'll want to give up now and start begging for my mercy!"

"You… got cut in half?" Despite his nervous reaction to seeing Piccolo Raditz couldn't help but laugh.

Piccolo sighed and shook his head. "First off, I didn't come here to hurt you, Babidi. Second, if I had you'd be dead by now. I know how this place works. You don't have your magic here, do you?"

"A wizard without magic?! Ha! The very idea is too ludicrous to even dignify with a denial!"

Meanwhile, a certain Saiyan was feeling ignored. He clenched his fists in irritation. "Hey greenie! Aren't you forgetting someone?" As soon as all eyes were on him, Raditz continued, "You do realize I can't just let you leave without getting my revenge, right? And without that spineless Kararot to help you you'll have no chance of defeating me. I've been training nonstop here in the HFIL and even now am in the process of receiving the same training that made Buu so powerful-"

Piccolo had forgotten just how much he disliked Raditz. After listening to him rattle on for a few minutes he decided he could take no more of it and, faster than the Saiyan could even register, he had approached him and punched him in the stomach. The wind knocked out of him, Raditz stumbled backwards. "...how..." was all he could manage as he crumbled to the ground. Piccolo then turned back toward Babidi.

The wizard was panicking a little at this point and held up his hands reflexively, getting ready for a spell that he could no longer actually cast.

"LIsten... I came to apologize."

Babidi blinked a couple of times, baffled. "Apologize? Why? ...could it be you want to join my forces? You'd be a valuable asset, assuming you can prove your loyalty."

"Of course not!" Piccolo slowly advanced toward the wizard as he spoke. "If you're capable of not hearing your own voice for two minutes, I'll tell you."

"Fine then! Say what you must!" Babidi crossed his thin arms and wished he could still float so he wouldn't have to stare up at the Namek like this... He felt very small and vulnerable. But he was also deeply curious as to what he had to say...

"I think I judged you unfairly, Babidi. When we had our brief encounter, I called you evil, but in reality, I resented you because we were so similar, yet I had overcame the same blocks that you were then stumbling on. You frustrated me because I could see so much of my own past self in you."

This was one of the very, very rare times where the wizard was at a loss for words. Similar? What could he mean by that?

"Both you and I were shaped by the dark ambitions of the one who came before us. Your father Bibidi in your case. And you still follow his evil desires and ambitions even though he's long dead, whereas I, after a long war with myself, have chosen a very different path." Piccolo was only a couple feet away from Babidi at this point, and he kneeled down before continuing. "I projected my frustrations with my own inner battle upon you when I should have tried to help you. So think! What is it that you want, Babidi?!"

"I... I..." Babidi stammered a bit. It was difficult to think when Piccolo was so close, it made him nervous! "I... I want to control Buu and become ruler of everything!"

Piccolo looked away, annoyed. "Maybe I was wrong about you. But I doubt it. Now dig a little deeper!"

"I guess… what I really want is… you NEED TO DUCK!"

Piccolo didn't, instead pivoting around quickly and kicking out one leg, knocking over Raditz, who had been attempting to sneak up behind him and had been getting ready to attack.

The Saiyan was back on his feet quickly- and was getting pissed off. "Hey! You can't keep ignoring me, you know!"

Piccolo stood up then, leaving Babidi to think things over as he approached Raditz. "I think you'd prefer I ignored you, Raditz. Do you have any idea how much I've improved since our last fight?"

The Saiyan tossed his excessively long hair back over his shoulders and laughed, fully confident. "I don't care how much you think you've improved, I told you, I've been training down here. I'd estimate that my power has doubled, possibly even tripled! And you could barely touch me before- you certainly wouldn't have killed me without help!" He then watched Piccolo's expression, waiting for his reaction. It wasn't what Raditz had hoped for...

"I've had enough of you getting in my way, Raditz. It's time to shut you up for good!" Raditz wanted to laugh at this statement, but found it hard to do so when he was once again punched in the gut then knocked to the ground. "Be thankful I can't kill you here," said Piccolo, standing over the downed Saiyan. "Now stop bothering us. We have no use for you."

Whether his pride or his torso hurt more, Raditz was uncertain. But he knew for sure he couldn't let these two out of his sight. He needed Babidi's training... and he REALLY needed revenge on Piccolo!

The Namekian had stopped paying any attention whatsoever to the fallen Raditz, however, and had returned to Babidi's side. The wizard had watched the fight, somewhat awed. But as Piccolo once again approached him he remembered what he was supposed to have been thinking over...

He supposed Piccolo was right on one thing- it was his father's dream he was chasing, not his own. But he hadn't been acting entirely without his own motives- he had been hoping, deep down inside, that Buu would be more of a brother to him. And now that that wasn't happening he wasn't really sure what he wanted.

But thinking it over a bit, as he had been told to, he realized he wanted Piccolo as his lackey. That was a start!

"So then."

There was an awkward pause. Babidi and Piccolo weren't really sure what to say at that moment, but neither felt they were done with the other. But Piccolo spoke up first.

"I'm not sure what you're playing at 'training' second tier idiots like Raditz down here, but I'm thinking that since you lack your magic perhaps I should teach you how to be less defenseless?"

"Defenseless? Just when I'm starting to think you have a decent brain in that green head of yours you pull out a stupid comment like that! A Warlock is never defenseless!" Babidi made a big show of being dismissive before continuing. "But if you really want to make yourself useful, you can go ahead and try and teach me something I don't already know!"

PIccolo suppressed the urge to raise his voice. "Lesson one: when someone offers to help you out as a gesture of friendship, you just accept it or say no. You don't make a display of acting like an asshole before you accept. It doesn't make you seem tough. It just makes everyone dislike you. Got it?"

Babidi blinked. Well, when he put it that way... it indeed kinda did make the Madoshi feel like he was being a bit of an asshole. But who cares? Better to look rude than weak! But he supposed he'd have to make an effort if he wanted to win Piccolo to his cause without the use of magic...

With what was clearly a large amount of effort, Babidi said, "Okay, Majunior, can you help me out?"

Piccolo still wasn't impressed. "That came off as sarcastic. Try again and maybe I'll say yes."

This was going to be more difficult than the wizard had anticipated.

But neither the wizard, nor the warrior, or even the half conscious soldier had any idea how difficult things were going to get...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: No Face as Hideous as My Face...

It might have been a week later?

It might have been a month?

Or maybe just a day. Time was hard to discern in the Home For Infinite Losers. But some time had passed, no question on that.

Piccolo was starting to wonder what he was doing here. Out of a strange necessity he found himself still hanging around Babidi, and on the occasions where he attempted otherwise, he'd find the wizard hanging around him.

And he was always, always talking. Which Piccolo found easier to put up with than most incessant chatter, but still, there were times when he felt nearly ready to break from irritation.

When he wasn't busy trying to find some silence or looking for his family members (who he was certain were in Hell somewhere), Piccolo was training Babidi. The Madoshi's capabilities in the physical realm had been entirely based around his magic, leaving him unable to even fly here without it!

He also had the unwelcome but unshakeable presence of Raditz to deal with. The Saiyan still seemed convinced that Babidi was holding back for whatever reason and would, at any moment, pull out the amazing kung fu skills that he had surely taught Buu and had promised to teach him.

The former soldier also enjoyed using this as an opportunity to mock Piccolo. The Namekian honestly wondered if Raditz was just plain stupid.

Through listening in on all of this, Raditz and Babidi had put together further the pieces of whom one another was, and now the wizard was more interested in keeping Raditz around, erroneously thinking that his powers were similar to that of his brother and nephew and could thus be of great use to him sometime in the indistinct future.

Eventually came the highly exciting day where Babidi had at last mastered basic ki control- how this worked in hell Piccolo wasn't really sure, but just as he still could focus his seemingly nonexistant ki, he trained Babidi. And the warlock was utterly delighted to be able to fly again!

"Piccolo, you are absolutely splendid! Times like this I really think I could kiss you!" he said as he cheerfully zipped around through the air around the Warrior's head like some sort of comically oversized insect.

"Do us all a favor and DON'T," Raditz muttered from his seat on the sidelines.

"I'm in such a wonderful mood now! I feel like... making trouble."

Both Raditz and Piccolo looked up (literally, since Babidi was now several yards above them in the air). "Trouble? I'm in!" The Saiyan, who had been hopelessly bored, jumped up enthusiastically.

The two looked hopefully over at Piccolo. He was about to demand otherwise, but as was becoming strangely common here in hell, he found himself grinning a bit. "What the hell... If I'm damned it won't kill me to act like it. What do you have in mind?"

"Well! We can go kill some people and take over this place!" Babidi noticed the flaw in this plan as soon as he finished speaking it. "I keep forgetting we can't kill anyone here. This place really is hell!"

"I say we should either go big or not go at all..." the other two turned to look at Raditz, who had landed again. "We who have seen hell can no longer fear death. If we could make it back to the physical realm, could there be any who compared to us?"

Babidi did a little excited dance in the air. "I do like the way you think, Raditz! Not even my precious Majin Buu could stand up to the three of us now that we've been training here!"

Piccolo thought they were both getting a bit ahead of themselves, but was still more than willing to play along. "So since you've clearly put some thought into this, how are we supposed to escape the underworld?"

"Brace yourself, Green Man, because I'm about to blow your feeble mind," Raditz paused for effect, feeling like he must look rather dramatic, making big statements like that!

The Namek lacked the patience for the Saiyan's theatrics and was about to tell him so when he finally continued. "There are only two who have successfully made it out of this place on their own. One is Kakarot... and the other was me!"

He smiled at the two of them. Well, at least Babidi was reacting as hoped... "Really?! You managed to escape this place before?! How did you manage?" but then the inevitable question came up. "And how come you're back here if you did?"

Piccolo just looked skeptical. Raditz decided to enlighten them. "A couple years back there was a minor riot amongst the restless inmates here. They overcame the Oni guards, so a few fighters were sent down from heaven to help quiet things down. They were careless and left the gate to slowly swing shut on it's own behind them- giving me the opening I needed to break free!"

"That sounds like luck played far to big of a role," said Babidi critically. "Was that how Carrot did it too?"

"Kakarot. Ka-Ka-rot. It's not that difficult," the Saiyan rolled his eyes. "And I know not what method of escape he employed, only that he somehow managed it. I am, however, fully certain that had they been making any effort he would have been caught much quicker than I was. But since his presence here was a mistake, apparently, they didn't try and rectify his escape."

"And are you going to share with us how it was that they managed to catch you? I would hate to make such an embarrassing return, I really don't know how I could live with myself if that happened!" Babidi was clearly trying to dig at Raditz's confidence for his own amusement.

Raditz just laughed and tossed his hair back. "I was distracted on the way out by a very beautiful woman. I decided to spend a little time with her to satisfy my physical desires, but made a few miscalculations and was then caught." He smirked at his allies. "But you don't need to worry about that, that's the sort of problem only real men like myself have. Unless I'm very much mistaken, neither of you are those sorts of men."

"Are you really sure that the fact that your genitalia and reproductive urges cost you your freedom is something to be proud of?" asked Piccolo doubtfully.

The wizard clearly agreed with this. "You Saiyans are a disgustingly carnal race, aren't you? And it will always be your downfall. Why, you should have seen your nephew fighting my Dabura! He couldn't stop thinking of the repulsive things that he was certain Dabura would do to him if he lost, and that kept him so distracted that he could hardly hold his own against him!" He gave the Saiyan a superior smirk. "Lucky for myself and Piccolo, we're far too advanced for that sort of distraction!"

"Well, excuse me for interrupting this meeting of the chaste virgins club, but- wait a moment!" he took half a step back, "Dabura, you said? Who's this Dabura?"

"Dabura was the ruler of the Demon Realm of Darkness but he's dead now," PIccolo quickly interjected, but he didn't succeed in stopping one of Babidi's excessively long stories.

"That's right! Of all the demons in the entire demon realm, my Dabura was the strongest, the evilest, and the meanest. All feared his unimaginable power- all except me! Because even Dabura knew that I was stronger, eviler, and meaner-"

"He means he cast a spell on him."

"Only I was able to control this unfathomably terrifying force known as Dabura! But he became my most devoted servant, willing to do anything for me, because he recognized me as his superior and knew far better than to attempt to resist my power-"

"Once again, he was under a spell."

"-because that's just how terrifying my magic is!"

"Was."

"Majunior! Stop interrupting! How am I ever supposed to explain just how terrifying Dabura is and by extension just how mindnumbingly powerful I am if you keep butting in?"

"Whatever! You can both shut up!" Raditz had no interest in listening to these two bicker. "I regret asking. That's clearly not the person I thought you were talking about, so let's move on. Were we not discussing our escape plans?"

"Right..." Piccolo was relieved to be back on topic. "So what are you thinking? We should perhaps stir up some trouble ourselves to see if we can replicate that riot? And then just hope that we happen to be at the right place at the right time to sneak out when reinforcements are sent in?"

Raditz wagged a finger condescendingly. "You're underestimating me again, Green Man, don't you know how dangerous that is? It just so happens that I can lead us to the exact location of the hidden door, that way, as soon as it opens, we can spring through!"

"Perfect! You may be useful after all, Raditz! I never would have guessed! So all that remains is to start a riot. How fun! I do love a good riot!" The wizard paused for a moment of cheerful reflection on all the riots he and Buu had caused together. Those were such happy days!

For a moment the Namekian vacillated... he couldn't deny that he was having more fun than he expected here in hell, and that playing the role of his former villainous self again was marvelous, but he should probably draw a line somewhere, right? Kami's morals objected to actually going through with this plan, but it was Piccolo, as usual, who ended up winning this internal debate.

And so, the three headed toward the spot where Raditz claimed a doorway out of hell would appear. The Saiyan soldier warned them that this area was considered pretty good real estate and was occupied by some fairly terrifying souls, but Babidi was convinced that would make starting a riot easier, and Piccolo was certain that whoever it was they would be no problem for him.

When they reached the area, they set their plan into place... each of the three started stirring up trouble, in their own way.

Raditz approached the first dead person he saw and simply told them, "You should hear what that guy has been saying about you," gesturing toward another randomly selected corpse. "Let's just say it involves your fat ass, a tampon, an outie belly button, and some lighter fluid."

"He said THAT?!" Moments later the two random souls were fighting.

The Saiyan repeated this with other people, to similar results.

As for Babidi, his tactic was a bit different. He loudly announced, "Guess what? I just heard that my Majin Buu died and he's on his way down here right this very moment! Knowing my Buu, as soon as he get's here he's gonna clean house! I'd be scared if I were you!"

Sure enough, a portion of the souls in the area began to panic...

Piccolo's plan was the simplest and most direct. He just started indiscriminately attacking people.

Surprisingly, this all worked as expected and within a matter of moments a huge riot had erupted...

- - -

It didn't take long for word of this to reach the Supreme Kai. As soon as he heard from Yama, he traveled to heaven, as this was where one of the afterlife's strongest beings was currently located. As much as KibitoKai hated it, this soul had became his go-to guy for handling any sort of problem down in the Home For Infinite Losers.

Unfortunately, along with being incredibly strong, this guy was creepy as fuck, and thus the Kai hated having to talk to him.

"It looks like we'll be needing your assistance again, Dabura."

The former Demon Lord of Darkness cheerfully tossed aside the flowers he had been picking and grabbed KibitoKai's hands. "Oh my! Well, don't you worry, you've came to the right angel! I'd be happy to do anything I can to help you out! After all, I still owe you for all that dreadful trouble I caused back in my evil days!"

Suppressing the urge to vomit, KibitoKai tried unsuccessfully to free his hands from Dabura's death grip. "It's trouble in hell again, looks like yet another riot. I'm not quite sure how this one started, so keep your guard up."

"You can count on me!" Dabura started to fly off, then turned around and waved. "I'll let you know when it's all taken care of. Bye bye, Kai-chan!"

The Supreme Kai shuddered.

- - -

Back in hell the riot raged on, and our three favorites were enjoying themselves. Piccolo had just beat up his old nemesis Freiza and Raditz was now stomping on his former boss's face. Babidi was clinging to the shoulder of Piccolo's cape, using his new Ki control capabilities to shoot weak but irritating blasts in various people's faces.  
In fact, they were having so much fun that they didn't even notice the doorway had opened until a few citizens of hell started screaming. "It's Dabra! RUN!"

At this Babidi let go of Piccolo's cape and started looking around frantically. "Dabura! Where are you? It's me, Master Babidi-sama! Show yourself!"

He was then grabbed by the back of his cape. He looked over his shoulder, delighted to see his former right hand man- but then he started laughing. "Oh my goodness! What HAPPENED to you, Dabra?! Did someone make you their bitch down here? And what's wrong with your LEGS?!" At this point he was laughing so hard he could speak no more.

Dabura smiled serenely. "Oh Babidi, I've thought long and hard about what I'd do if I saw you again. And it looks like, unfortunately, I'm going to have to rough you up a bit!"

"Wait- what?!" At this the wizard finally noticed his mark was missing from Dabura's head, and suddenly, he was terrified.

The demonic angel attempted to punch Babidi, but the wizard just barely dodged. Dabura still had him by the cape, however, limiting his movements. But before he could strike again he blasted from behind by a large amount of ki.

Dabura took the hit dead on but seemed unaffected as he turned to Piccolo. "Well, I'll be! I never thought I'd see a gentleman like you down here!"

Piccolo knew he couldn't win against this guy before, but he was hoping that perhaps without a Majin power boost Dabura wouldn't be as strong. He once again cursed his inability to read ki levels now that he was dead.

Meanwhile, where was Raditz?

The Saiyan stood in the doorway, blocking it open and wondering if he should just run for it or wait for the other two…

Seeing that the Wizard and Warrior were in direct conflict with that terrifying angel Dabura, however, Raditz realized he should probably go ahead and leave. There's no way, after all, that they could defeat him! But he decided he couldn't resist seeing the two of them get completely owned, so he leaned back in the doorframe and watched…

Babidi already knew what the outcome was going to be- "Piccolo, RUN! He'll turn you into stone again!"

"Oh no! I've long since ceased using that vulgar attack! But… Should you choose to continue to get in my way while I deal with this trouble maker I will be forced to hurt you, Piccolo."

"He means it! Get out of here!"

"Not without you I won't!" Piccolo snatched Babidi from Dabura, leaving the demon holding just a shred of ripped fabric. He then bolted for the exit, shoving a startled Raditz through along with them.

Out of hell! Piccolo tried to slam the door shut behind him, hoping to slow down Dabura's pursuit, but the demonic angel was too fast and caught it before he had the chance, so that idea was abandoned and they continued running.

"That was surprisingly selfless of you back there, Babidi," Piccolo said as they did so, "Telling me to leave rather than fight Dabura to get you back? There may be hope for you yet."

Horrified, Babidi tried to think of an excuse- then realized that he felt a familiar spark inside him- his magic had returned!

"STOP!" he shouted, causing everyone, even their pursuer, to come to a pause.

"Dabura, you insubordinate worm, it's time for you to remember who you exist to serve!"

As Babidi attempted to re-Majinify Dabura, the demon lord just stood there, examining his fingernails and adjusting a flower that he had tucked behind his ear earlier that day. After a moment he smiled. "Done yet?"

Babidi couldn't believe this wasn't working!

Raditz smacked Babidi on the back of his head. "Do something more effective, Wiz! This isn't hurting him at all!"

"It seems his time in heaven has completely removed all the evil from his heart," Piccolo noted. He was privately glad that Babidi was unsuccessful, as he doubted his efforts to reform the wizard would work out if he had access to his primary destructive tool again…

"Very good!" Dabura clapped cheerfully and nonsarcastically. "You've figured it out! So now that nasty little Babidi can't control me any more."

Babidi found this hard to believe, and took a peek into Dabura's heart. Indeed, it appeared that the marvelous cruelty and powerlust that had once made the demon lord a perfect candidate for his mind control was gone, replaced by a hideous sense of remorse for his past crimes as well as a repulsive desire for justice and order. And some sort of ghastly purity surrounded it all… perhaps if he removed that?

So he changed the spell slightly and concentrated on corrupting the pure part of his soul- and suddenly the Demon fell to his knees.

End Chapter Three: No Face as Hideous as My Face…


End file.
